“You’re not Dad. I’m not Mom.” His sister shook her head. “I know you appreciate me. I don’t need to hear you say it.”

“But I should say it.” Luke shifted, turning to face her. “You deserve to hear it.”

“Whatever.” Penelope blushed. She scooted the dog off her lap and stood up. “Guests are going to start arriving any minute now.” She waved at him to go. “They want to cuddle corgis, not you.”

Luke scrambled to his feet. “Are you sure I can’t get one cuddle?” He held his arms out to her.

Even as she rolled her eyes, Penelope leaned toward him. “Not bad,” she said, squeezing him tight. “But corgis are better. Fluffier butts.”

“I’ll try and work on that,” he promised.

“And you’ll ask Julia to do the magic act with you?” Penelope pressed.

If she’s still talking to me. Luke cringed inwardly. He might need a bit of magic to convince Julia to be his partner. After what they’d shared last night … And this morning, taking off on her like he had, wasn’t his best moment. He needed to find her and apologize.

He gave his sister a reassuring smile. “Abracadabra.”

CHAPTER 24

JULIA

The “stage” for the talent show was a sizable dais in the center of the gazebo, with a circle of folding chairs fanning out from the raised space. Julia sat with the other performers waiting their turn, attention drifting from the act currently onstage. The interior of the gazebo was spacious and elegant, with twinkly fairy lights dripping from the rafters. Near enough to the lakeshore that one could hear the crashing waves, the spot had a moody, romantic vibe.

Too bad all that romantic ambience was going to waste. She glanced at her friends, seated on folding chairs on either side of her. They’d arrived for the rehearsal only to discover that their partners were all MIA. Maybe Luke was going to bail on her again. He hadn’t seemed overly excited about the prospect of performing in the talent show when she’d asked him about it. In fact, the man had taken off like a bat out of hell. She shrugged. She’d signed them up to perform together. If he didn’t show, maybe she’d be off the hook.

Julia turned to Kat. “How does Zach feel about the Dirty Dancing idea?”

“He seemed really into it.” Kat sighed. “Honestly, a little too into it.”

“Why do you say that?” Andie wondered.

“He told me he needed go work on his ‘Patrick Swayze look.’ Whatever that means.”

“It means he’s staring at himself in the mirror while making sexy faces. Or feathering his bangs with hair spray.” Andie snorted. “Probably both.”

Kat laughed. “You’re probably right.” She nudged Andie. “What about Curt? Is he busy doing more wedding party stuff?”